As you must be aware, Japan is going through its biggest challenge in recent history. Multiple earthquakes and the subsequent tsunami have killed likely more than 10,000 people.
As 20+ year residents of Baton Rouge, my family was saddened by this horrendous news. I felt depressed in seeing houses, cars and people swept away by the tsunami.
Scenes of devastation after the tsunami were eerily similar to those after Hurricane Katrina — water all over, people asking for help on the rooftops, fishing boats resting a mile inland, automobiles standing upright and rubble of what used to be people’s residence. There is no doubt that many LSU students, faculty and staff members can put themselves in the shoes of the people in that country.
My family lives in Tokyo, 200 miles away from the epicenter. Still, my sister-in-law told me that she felt the jolt as long as five minutes, and it was unlike anything she ever experienced. One of my uncles sustained a head injury after being struck by falling roofing slates. In our families’ homes, glassware fell off shelves, the fridge moved 5 inches and everything went upside down in one of their rooms. People in Tokyo are enduring rolling
blackouts and having some difficulty purchasing foods and essentials, but it’s nothing compared to the plight of people near the epicenters.
Japanese people are resilient, and they will rebuild, just as they did after the 1995 earthquake in Kobe or as we have been doing after Hurricane Katrina. It’ll be a very long ordeal as we, south Louisianans, know well, and they can use our help.
Some 90+ countries offered help to Japan, including the U.S. with “Operation Tomodachi (Friendship),” with aircraft carriers off the coast to support helicopter rescues, among other things.
In Japan, people are helping each other. Bakers are handing out bread for free. Many people are offering the bathroom in their
residence for those who have to walk home, and a 2-year old boy rushed outside to “arrest the earthquake.” You might catch some of these stories with #prayforjapan on Twitter.
I was wondering what I could do myself. The answer is “not much.” There are, however, two things we can do to help them — prayer and donation. Please pray for those who lost their lives and those who struggle with the damage and devastation.
You might say, “Donation to Japan?” While Japan is a rich country, it definitely needs your help for the more than 400,000 people in shelters/temporary locations and more than 20,000 people still stranded. They need food, water, clothes, blankets, temporary
housing and everything else we currently own ourselves.
The following are some of the potential donation takers, among many others: Amazon.com, where all donations go to American Red Cross Japan Earthquake/Tsunami fund, redcross.org and the Lady Gaga “We Pray for Japan” bracelet, with all proceedings going to “Japan relief efforts.”
Thank you for your support. God bless everyone and Go Tigers!
 
Yoshinori Kamo, Ph.D.
Sociology associate professor
 
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